What Is The Why Behind Your Prospecting?-with Jonathan Spears- EP 188

On today's episode, Jeff is going to talk to Jonathan Spears, founder of The Spears Group from the panhandle of Florida. Today they are going to discuss some of the basics and some of the things that helped Jonathan to get to where he is today; From foreclosures to luxury real estate, Jonathan focused on the top parts of the market that were transacting and he was knowledgeable about them. Real estate is not easy and it's not going to get easier anytime soon, so listen to Jonathan’s advice on how to prospect.  Tune in. Episode Highlights: At the Spears Group, Jonathan and his team serve second, third, and fourth homeowners, investor profiles and they are very fortunate to be along a white sand beach, emerald, green waters that serve such a wonderful community in the South. When we all think of the word recession, we go back to 2007, 2008, 2009 but for us, it really was 2010 when we had the BP oil spill that really threatened the quality of the beaches and Jonathan is a true product of recession. Having to figure out how to collaborate with people that were not of Jonathan's age or even collaborating with those that were close to his age but had major age gaps; that helped to set up for a lot of success in real estate for Jonathan. Jonathan always tells his agents to stay obsessed with the hot seat and stay sharp. Because when you are sharp and you have market knowledge, it doesn't matter how you look. Online real estate websites or technology tell you what's transacted and what the price point is, but they don't tell you who the people are and why they transacted. It is fundamental to all the agents to focus on is why are things transacting in the market that you are serving, says Jonathan. Direct mail is very valuable in our market because our clients aren't in our market. So, we are trying to engage them back home in their market, whether it's through direct mail or social media or through other ad campaigns, says Jonathan. It gets under Jeff's skin when he sees an agent tossing and turning in the wind. Because just a little bit of focus and a little bit of daily discipline can be the difference between providing for your family at a high level and not.  When you are struggling you feel like you have to cast that wider net, but you are actually doing a disservice to your business. When you do so and niching down and going deep on just a local community and become the digital celebrity, like the authority in the community that lifts it up rather than having to talk about real estate. This is more of a social strategy. As a real-estate agent it is important to realize that you have a routine and because you don't track it, you don't know it. So, if you are the CEO of your business and you are not tracking what you are doing, how do you actually know what is going on in your business?  As per Jonathan's business model, he wants to create more of a level field for agents. He wants an agent's business to be more predictable.  Sales is a numbers game; How many phone calls does it take to equate to a real appointment? Jonathan' would say his sales pitch to you is to be the CEO of your business.  The best piece of advice Jonathan would give to a beginner is whether you are in the mortgage industry, the real estate industry or any other industry, snuggle up next to whoever you idolize. Whoever is doing the most in your market, whoever will give you the time of day and learn from them.  When it comes to value proposition you can look at it through two ends of the spectrum as a new agent. The value proposition you could have to a customer is you know being at a great brand or brokerage that provides a certain marketing outlet. But at another end of the spectrum, where you are a successful agent on a micro basis when you prospect the value proposition that you provide needs to be in direct correlation with the value output that your customer wants to get. Know your audience and figure out what's important to them, says Jonathan. The ability to understand the whys and the market is not widely known. There is no strategy. One challenge for all agents is to listen whether you are a leader or you are an agent; dial in and try to figure out what your true value props are that are actually different, says Jonathan. Rewire and direct mail could be super effective. For Jonathan in a second home market, his customer base isn't always there and so ways to get in front of them is through direct mail. The way that we approach direct mail is kind of a litany of things. It could be a mixture of handwritten notes, direct mail, postcards, says Jonathan. Pick 200 addresses and farm them constantly. When you start seeing response from customers is when they start seeing a repetitive value proposition from you. For Jonathan it takes 6 postcards to one area before he ever gets a single call. 6 valuable direct mail pieces whether that's handwritten notes, postcards, brochures, 6 pieces before Jonathan and his team ever get a response and that's typically like one or two responses. As per Jonathan, you have to be consistent in social media. It is going to take time but imagine popping off and it happens very regularly now, and you can go into a listing appointment or put on a marketing piece that you have the capability of getting hundreds of thousands of eyeballs on your property. There is constant consumption of knowledge. We are constantly listening to podcasts or reading books, reading news articles, or scrolling social media to try to find more information. Be disciplined to apply the knowledge that you get to your business. It's your life you consume over and over and over and over. 3 Key Points: Only distressed properties were transacted at the time when Jonathan came out of school and started into real estate, and it really exposed him to pricing properties for banks or lenders or sometimes private equity groups. For a lot of us as humans, a routine is incredibly important and that is something that Jonathan mentioned that he has customized, and the approach has worked for him. As a real-estate agent knowledge of the market is probably the most important thing for an agent to focus on; it is their biggest value proposition, says Jonathan.   Resources Mentioned:  Lab Coat Agents | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram  Jeff Pfitzer   | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Follow Up Boss (Sponsor) Chime (Sponsor) Z buyer (sponsor) Jonathan Spears: https://spearsgroupfl.com/agent/jonathan-spears https://www.instagram.com/jonathanmspears/?hl=en